Oscars: big wins for period dramas at the 96th Academy Awards
The 2024 Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, took place last night, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Oppenheimer dominates
The event proved to be a treat for fans of period-type dramas, with Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb film Oppenheimer winning seven awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Christopher Nolan, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Cillian Murphy, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Robert Downey Jr.
Oppenheimer also received awards for Cinematography, Editing, and Best Score.
Watch Cillian Murphy receive his honour for his role as nuclear physicist J Robert Oppenheimer here:
Watch Robert Downey Jr’s acceptance speech here:
Poor Things
Emma Stone, although no stranger to the Oscar Nominees’ list in recent years, surprised viewers by winning Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role as Bella Baxter in the period fantasy comedy Poor Things. She beat the favourite Lily Gladstone, who shone as Molly Kyle Burkhard in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Emma Stone’s second Oscar win is coming on the heels of her success in 2017’s La La Land.
Watch Emma Stone’s acceptance speech here:
The Holdovers
Da’Vine Joy Randolph made a heartfelt emotional speech while accepting her award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her role as grieving mother, Mary Lamb in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers.
Watch Da’vine Joy Randolph’s acceptance speech here:
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Wes Anderson surprised the audience by not showing up to accept his first-ever Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Wes had already started work on his latest production so he could not attend the ceremony.
Not what we were expecting
Also absent were John Cena’s clothes, which were not available to help him present the Best Costume award as they presumably had a prior engagement.